Joel Osteen Podcast - Just One Good Break | Joel Osteen
Episode Date: September 24, 2024God has already arranged good breaks for your future. All it takes is one touch of His favor to get you where you're meant to be! Your best days are still ahead, and together we can make a difference... in this world with the message of God's hope and love. To give visitJoelOsteen.com/GiveHope.God still works miraclestoday just as He did in Scripture! InMiracles Happen, you’ll find stories of 30 miracles from the Bible plus 5 modern-day miracles. Let our September offer stir your faith and increase your expectation—your miracle is on the way!Request your copy today,https://bit.ly/3SVZvsb. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of the Joel Osteen Podcast ad-free and a whole week early. Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. Thanks so much for listening to the podcast and thanks for supporting the ministry.
We believe you're going to have an awesome 2024, healthy, productive, and favor-filled.
God bless you today and enjoy the message.
Well, God bless you. It's a joy to come into your homes. And if you're ever in our area,
please stop by and be a part of one of our services. I promise you, we'll make you feel right at home.
I like to start with something funny. And I heard about this lady.
she was on the airplane reading her Bible. The man next to her said, you don't believe all that stuff in
there, do you? She said, certainly I do. It's the Bible. He said, what about that guy that got swallowed
by a well? She said, oh, you mean Jonah? Yeah, I believe that too. He said, well, how could he possibly
live that long inside of a well? She thought about it a moment. He said, I don't know. When I get to
heaven, I'll have to ask him. He said sarcastically, what if he's not in heaven? She said,
then you'll have to ask him.
Say it like you mean it.
This is my Bible.
I am what it says I am.
I have what it says I have.
I can do what it says I can do.
Today I will be taught the Word of God.
I boldly confess.
My mind is alert.
My heart is receptive.
I will never be the same.
In Jesus name.
God bless you.
I want to talk to you today about just one good break.
Sometimes we don't see how.
we can accomplish our dreams. We don't have the connections, the resources, the experience.
I talked to a young man that wanted to go to college, but his scholarship didn't go through.
He comes from a single parent home, and he doesn't have the funds. The odds are against him.
It's easy to get discouraged and think, I'll never get well. Look at the medical report.
I'll never break this addiction. I've had it for years. I can't get out of debt. I've gone as far as I can.
It may look like it's not going to happen, but what you can't see is you're just one good
break away, just meeting one right person, just one phone call, one contract, one healing,
and what seemed impossible will suddenly become possible.
You don't need a hundred things to go right, just one touch of God's favor and doors will open
that you couldn't open.
Just one person being for you
will catapult you ahead.
Just one breakthrough
and suddenly you get well.
Suddenly you're free from the addiction.
Suddenly the depression is gone.
You may have situations
that don't look like they'll ever change
but stay encouraged.
God has already arranged
good breaks for you.
Things that you couldn't make happen.
You weren't next in line.
You didn't have the experience
but out of nowhere
the contract came to you. He's already lined up the right people to help you. You didn't ask them.
You didn't have to try to win them over. For no reason, they will go out of their way to be good to you.
They've been ordained by God to move you into your destiny. You don't have to worry about how it's
going to work out. God can cause one person to like you, one person to say, promote them, give them the position,
and suddenly you'll go to a new level.
Instead of thinking, it's a long way off.
I don't see how it can ever happen.
Turn it around.
Father, thank you that I'm just one good breakaway.
Thank you that one touch of your goodness
and things will change in my favor.
Do you know how we got the compact center?
Just one phone call.
That's how it all started.
We were trying to build a new auditorium,
but twice the property we found
was sold out from under us.
I was disappointed. We couldn't find any more land. But when something doesn't work out your way,
it's because God has something better in store. You may not be able to see it at the time,
but that's when you have to trust him. One afternoon, I was at the office, minding my own business,
a friend called that I hadn't spoken to in a couple of years. He said, Joel, I have an idea for you.
Let's go to lunch. The next day at lunch,
He told how the Rockets basketball team was moving out of the compact center and how Lakewood
should try to purchase it. When I heard that, something came alive on the inside. I knew we were
supposed to pursue it. Well, the city owned this building. So when I got back from lunch,
I called the mayor. He was a friend of our family. I told him that we were interested.
He said, Joel, I think Lakewood having the compact center would be great for the city of
Houston. God knows how to have the right people be for you. Those two owners that sold the property
out from under us, I didn't like it. It didn't seem fair. The truth is, it wasn't their choice.
It was the hand of God. They weren't supposed to be for us. If they would have done what I wanted,
we would have missed out on the compact center. When somebody is not for you, don't get been out of
shape. God has the right people already lined up that will want to help you. People that are
ordained to open doors that you couldn't open. People that will use their influence to thrust you
ahead. But there were some people that didn't want us to have the compact center. Critics that said
it wasn't a good fit. They brought opposition and tried to stop us. But the mayor was in charge of the
city. He set the agenda. Him being for us is what kept all the opposition from stopping us.
Every time they tried to keep it from happening, he would adjust something in our favor and we'd
keep moving forward. I've learned you don't need everyone to be for you. You just need the right
people to be for you. It just so happened. The man that liked us, he was in charge. He ran the city.
God is going to cause people to be for you that are in a position of authority.
People that can override your critics.
People that will cause things to fall into place.
When we moved into this facility, it catapulted us ahead.
Not just in the number of people attending, but in influence, in credibility, it put us 50 years down
the road.
People didn't look at us the same way.
growing up lakewood was on the other side of town where it was more industrial and over the years it had become more run down for years lakewood was in metal buildings with metal folding chairs a gravel parking lot we had portable wood buildings for our nurseries and kids facilities we were seen by some people as second class they can't afford much they're at a disadvantage but when we moved into this place it was like coming
out of the wilderness into the promised land.
This building is on one of the busiest freeways in the nation.
One of the nicest areas of town.
The Rockets had won two world championships here,
and now it's Lakewood.
That one good break caused people to see us
in a totally different light
with a whole new respect.
You may feel like you're falling behind.
You could never accomplish what God put in your heart.
You're still in the metal buildings.
Other people discount you.
Don't give you credit.
Don't worry.
God knows how to make up for lost time.
Just one touch of his favor will catapult you years ahead.
Just one person opening a door.
Just one phone call out of the blue.
And you look up and you're 50 years down the road.
You're not in the portable building.
You're in the compact center.
You're not in the rundown area.
You're on the main freeway.
People don't discount you anymore.
Now they look up to you.
God is going to cause you to be seen in a new light.
He's going to give you respect, credibility, influence that's going to make up for the time.
It looks like you've lost.
But those years where you were not being noticed, not seeing good breaks, not having much influence,
those were proving years, where you were showing God you could be trusted, where you did the right thing when the wrong thing was happening,
where you were being your best when you were.
weren't seeing growth, where you were going to work with a good attitude, even though nobody was
giving you credit. Those were important years. Without you being faithful and showing God that you
could be trusted, you wouldn't be ready for what God has in store. You have to be prepared for where
God is taking you. You're not falling behind. You're in training. If it's taken longer than you thought,
it's because God has something big in your future.
Don't slack off.
Don't get tired of doing the right thing.
If you'll keep passing the test,
the scripture says your due season is coming.
That means God's not only going to bring you out,
he's going to thrust you ahead.
You're going to come out promoted,
increased, further than you've ever imagined.
As a teenager, David was out in the shepherd's fields
taking care of his father's sheep.
It was boring.
David had big dreams in his heart.
He knew he was going to leave his mark.
But year after year, all he did was feed the sheep,
clean up their waste, make sure that they were protected.
It was dirty, smelly, lonely.
Nobody thanked him.
Nobody knew that he killed a lion and a bear
to protect those animals.
He could have slacked off, had a bad attitude.
God, it's not fair.
I'm wasting time out here.
Instead, he kept passing the test,
doing the right thing when nothing was changing.
One day the prophet Samuel came to his house
to anoint the next king of Israel.
He looked at David's seven brothers
who were older, had more experience, more training.
Some of them were in the military, big, strong, muscular.
They looked like a king.
Samuel passed by them and eventually came.
came to David, the forgotten one, the one that had been overlooked, discounted, seen as less than.
Samuel said, this is the next king of Israel. I'm sure his brothers, his parents nearly passed out.
You mean David, the shepherd, the youngest, the smallest? Are you sure? God doesn't choose
the way people choose. People look on the outside. God looks on the heart. God found a man in David he could trust.
a man that had proven
he'd be faithful when things
weren't going his way.
God knew if he could trust him to take care of sheep,
he could trust him to take care of his people.
When God promoted David,
brought him out, he made up for all the years
it looked like he was losing out in the shepherd's fields.
He went from being a shepherd to being a king.
Nobody voted for him.
This wasn't a democracy.
if it was, he wouldn't have received one vote.
He wasn't on the radar.
Nobody in Israel knew who he was.
His father didn't believe in him.
His brothers tried to belittle him.
But when God is ready to promote you,
he doesn't take a vote.
He doesn't check to see who likes you,
who's for you, how popular you are.
It's not a vote.
It's an appointment.
It's up to one person,
not your boss, not your neighbors, not your critics,
not your relatives. Promotion doesn't come from people. It comes from the Lord.
When it's your time to be promoted, no person can stop you. No bad break, no disappointment,
no enemy. God has the one and only vote. He has the final say. Now quit worrying about who's
not for you. Why won't these people give me credit? Joel, I'd be further along if my coworkers
would quit leaving me out. Can I tell you, you're a co-worker.
can't hold you back.
Other people cannot keep you
from your destiny.
They didn't know you before you were
formed in your mother's womb.
They didn't lay out the plan for your life.
They didn't crown you with favor.
They didn't put seeds of greatness
on the inside. Quit focusing
on who's not for you
and start focusing on who is
for you. The most high
God, the creator of the
universe, the one who spoke
worlds into existence.
is breathing in your direction.
He has you in the palm of his hand.
His plans for you are for good.
Him being for you is more than the world being against you.
David's life was set on a new course by just one person.
When Samuel came to his house and anointed him king,
his whole world changed.
And what's interesting is David didn't have to go after Samuel.
Samuel came after David.
You don't have to go after the blessing,
keep honoring God and the blessing will come to you.
The phone call will come to you.
The compact center will come to you.
The right person, the healing, the promotion will find you.
We spend too much time trying to make things happen.
Then we get frustrated because it's taking so long.
But you can't make things happen out of God's timing.
You can't make people like you who are not supposed to like you.
You can't open a door that God's,
God is closed. I tried to buy the property to build the sanctuary. I did my best. I was nice to those two
owners. I smiled my biggest smile. I thanked them in advance for selling it to us, no matter how charming
I was or how much money we offered, that door wasn't going to open. Stay in peace knowing that God
will cause the right people to find you. The right breaks will track you down. The right operations. The right
opportunities will come knocking at your door. When at your time, Samuel will show up.
David's father tried to convince Samuel to anoint one of his other seven sons. He thought David
was too small, too young, too inexperienced, but no matter how hard he tried, Samuel wouldn't do it.
God was showing us, what has your name on it won't go to anyone else. Quit being upset because that
co-worker got the promotion that you really wanted. If it was supposed to be yours, you would have
gotten it. Or that friend married that man that you really liked. That doesn't seem fair. Now we're
getting real. That doesn't seem fair. If you were supposed to marry him, then she wouldn't have.
That means that God has somebody better for you. I've learned you don't want what's not supposed to be
yours. There's no grace for it. One time I wanted a business opportunity so bad. I wanted. I was a business opportunity
so badly, I did everything I could to make it happen. Sometimes God will close a door that we can't open,
but there are times if we're so stubborn and it's not going to stop our destiny, God will let us have it our way.
And we obtained this business, but it wasn't what I thought. It was a constant headache,
never really got off the ground, drained our time, energy resources. Now my attitude is,
God, if it doesn't have my name on it, I don't.
want it. If it's not supposed to be yours, you're not going to have a grace for it. Don't try to beat
the door down. Be determined. Pursue your dreams, but be smart enough to realize what God wants to be
yours will come to you. It won't be a constant struggle. Yes, there'll be opposition. Yes,
you'll have to work hard. You'll have to fight the good fight of faith. But there will be a grace
that causes things to fall into place.
The psalmist said,
God will work out his plan for your life.
You don't have to work it out.
You don't have to struggle,
live worried, try to fix every problem,
straighten out every enemy,
make everything happen in your own strength.
You can live from a place of rest,
knowing that God is not only fighting your battles,
but he's lined up the brakes you need.
He has the right people,
that will help you. He has solutions to problems that you can't see right now. He's already
figured out how to solve it. Don't waste your time worrying. He's on the throne. He can see things
you can't see. He's promised he will work out his plan for your life. I received a letter from a young
lady that lives in Africa. Her dream was to get her doctorate degree so she could become a college
professor. She'd finished her master's degree and was preparing for the final exams to get into
the doctorate program when her landlord told her she had to move out of the apartment where she was
living. He broke the lease in just a couple of days. She had to leave that place and move into the
dorm. This all happened in the middle of final exams. Through her off. She couldn't study like
she had hoped, she ended up being turned down by the main university where she wanted to attend.
She was not only disappointed in herself, she was angry at the landlord for making her leave,
especially at that time. She was about to meet with an attorney and take legal action against
him. She always watches our podcast. My message that week happened to be called,
You Have a Defender. I talked about how we all have unfair things happen.
but God wouldn't have allowed it if he wasn't going to somehow use it for your good and how God
can vindicate us better than we can vindicate ourselves. She knew that was God speaking to her.
She let it go. After being turned down by 16 universities, she applied to a very prestigious
university in Italy. They really liked her, but they had 12 people on the waiting list in front of her.
They told her, unfortunately, she wouldn't be accepted.
Two weeks later, they emailed back and said, we've never done this before, but we've changed
our mind and opened up a position just for you.
When she arrived, they informed her out of hundreds of doctorate students, she was one of the six
chosen to be in the advanced studies program.
That meant she would not only receive a full scholarship, but, but she was one of the six chosen,
but she wouldn't have to live in the dorm.
She would have her own executive apartment
in a beautiful neighborhood
close to the university.
Her mind went back
to the men breaking the lease,
making her leave her apartment,
how she thought that was setting her back
when in fact it was setting her up.
God knows how to work out
his plan for your life.
It may not seem like it's going to happen,
but you're just one good breakaway.
Just one university.
saying we've changed our mind.
Just one Samuel showing up.
Just one phone call saying, hey, the compact
center's available.
You'll look back and say like her.
Wow, God, you've amazed me with your goodness.
David said, I have pitched my tent
in the land of hope.
My question is, where have you pitched your tent?
Well, Joel, I've had a lot of disappointments.
I'll never get well.
I can't accomplish my dreams.
It's been too long.
The problem is not that God
can't do it, the problem is where you pitched your tent. As long as you're thinking of all the
reasons why it's not going to happen, how impossible it is, that's going to limit you. Why don't
you do yourself a favor? Pull up your stakes. Pick up your tent. Move out of the land of doubt,
negativity, self-pity, move out of the land of it can't happen. I'm too old. I never get any good
breaks. That's the wrong neighborhood. Get out of that place and pitch your tent. And,
in the land of with God, all things are possible.
The land of goodness and mercy are chasing me down.
The land of what was meant for my harm,
God is turning to my advantage.
You are just one good break away
from God catapulting you to a new level.
Just one right person showing you favor
will change the course of your life.
Just one touch of God's goodness
and you'll beat the cancer.
You'll break the addiction.
You'll see your family restored.
in Acts chapter 3
There was a man that had been crippled since birth
Every day his family would carry him to the temple
And set him beside the gate so he could beg
He'd been doing this for years
One day Peter and John came walking by
The man held out his cup wanting something
Peter said I'm sorry we don't have any money for you
But in the name of Jesus rise and walk
Peter took him by the hand
Pull the man up instantly he was
healed. He was so excited
he took off running through the temple,
thanking God. Here's my point.
When the man woke up that morning,
he thought it was just another ordinary
day. He'd go to the temple, sit by the gate
and beg like he'd done for years.
He had no idea when he
went to bed that night he would be
able to walk. He didn't realize
he was just one good break away
from having his whole life changed.
Just one person ordained by God to speak healing and he would do something he was told he could never do.
You may have some big obstacles in your path today.
Things that have held you back for a long time.
A sickness, an addiction, depression, loneliness doesn't seem like it'll ever change.
You could get comfortable, accept it.
No, get ready.
God is about to surprise you.
He's already spoken to the right people.
He's already lined up the healing, the freedom, the promotion.
It's going to happen suddenly.
You didn't see it coming.
You woke up one morning, expected more of the same.
You never dreamed when you went to bed that night.
You would be healed, free, promoted, vindicated.
The good news is it could happen today.
It could happen this week.
This month, your whole world could change for the better.
Now, do you apart.
pit your tent in the land of hope.
Give God something to work with.
That's not just being positive, that your faith being released.
When the people saw this man up running, celebrating,
they looked at each other and said,
isn't this the guy that's been begging by the gate for the last 40 years?
They couldn't believe it.
The scripture says they were astonished.
God has some things in your future
that are not only going to leave you amazed,
but people around you are.
are going to be amazed. You were not created to live in dysfunction with addictions,
constantly struggling. That may be how it's been in the past, but that's not how it's going to be
in the future. God's about to do a new thing. He's going to break bondages that have held you back.
He's going to free you from those addictions. He's going to increase you to where you have more
than enough. That sickness is not permanent. Healing is coming.
wholeness is on the way. Victory is in your future. I talked to a young man that was on dialysis. He was in his early 30s.
Three days a week, four or five hours a day, he would have to go up to the clinic. My father was on dialysis at the end of his life and I took him up to the clinic a lot.
You don't see many people in their 30s. My heart went out to him because that's not an easy thing.
He told how he had had this problem since childhood.
He wasn't a candidate for a transplant.
He had a great attitude, still went to work every day.
And we prayed that God would not only help him fulfill his destiny,
but that God would make a way where we didn't see a way.
I saw him a couple of years later.
He said, Joel, you'll never believe what happened.
For years, doctors had told him that he couldn't have a transplant.
But this one doctor took a special interest in him,
studied his case, said, I can see why nobody wants to take the risk, but this is what I specialize
in. One night at one o'clock in the morning, he received a phone call from the doctor saying,
be at the hospital tomorrow morning at six, I have a kidney for you. The man was beaming with joy.
He said, Joel, I'm not on dialysis anymore. I have a new kidney. One touch of God's favor and his whole
world changed. One doctor
going out of his way to be good to him.
And what you're facing
may look like it's never going to change.
People have told you, no,
the odds are against you. Can I tell
you, you're just one good
break away? Just one touch
of God's favor and suddenly you'll
get well. Suddenly you'll get the kidney.
Suddenly you'll be free. Suddenly
you'll be promoted. I'm asking
you to pitch your tent
in the land of hope. Get up
every morning with expectancy
knowing that the most high God is working out his plan for your life.
If you'll do this, I believe and declare God is about to surprise you.
He's going to make things happen.
You didn't see coming, suddenly healing, breakthroughs, the right people,
the fullness of your destiny in Jesus' name.
And if you receive it, can you say amen today?
I'd like to give you an opportunity to make Jesus the Lord of your life.
Would you pray with me?
just say, Lord Jesus, I repent of my sins. Come into my heart, I make you my Lord and Savior.
Friends, if you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you got born again. Get in a good Bible-based
church and keep God first place. Sometimes the difficulties of life can be so overwhelming.
You feel like you're stumbling around in the dark. Things are so bad, you would need a miracle to
change your situation. But is a miracle even possible? We all face situations where we don't see a way
out. It's easy to get discouraged and give up on what we're believing for. That's how we felt in
1981. My mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer and given a few weeks to live. Nothing could be done
medically speaking, but she chose to believe that God is a miracle worker. Today, 43 years later,
by the grace of God, she's still healthy and strong.
I'm so grateful to be alive.
I'm 90 years young.
I thank God every day that he still does miracles.
I'd love to send you my new book.
It's called Miracles Happened.
It's filled with powerful stories of miracles from the scripture
and real life stories of people that have seen the hand of God.
It'll help build your faith so you can believe what seems impossible.
God did it for my mother.
He'll do it for you.
As our way of saying thank you for your gift of any amount to the ministry this month,
Joel and Victoria would like to send you this powerful book, Miracles Happen, Your Journey to Supernatural Breakthrough.
This new book details 30 different miracles from the Word of God, and each one comes with an encouragement and application to your own life.
God has miracles stored up for you. Healing, freedom, favor, breakthroughs.
Miracles still happen today, and faith is what activates God's power. When you believe, all things are possible.
That's when you'll see the hand of God do supernatural things in your life.
Victoria and I are standing in faith with you.
We pray for you every day.
We appreciate your prayer and support.
Your generosity is impacting so many lives.
Remember, you can watch the services live online every Sunday morning.
Download our daily podcast.
Watch on YouTube, the new Joel Osteen Network, listen on Sirius XM.
Until we meet again, may the Lord bless you and keep you.
Be sure to request your copy of Miracles Happen,
your journey to supernatural breakthrough today.
Visit Joel Osteen.com or call 888-567 Joel.
